


Leaves From The Vine

by Meriora



Series: YWB 'Verse [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-30 19:14:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10169927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meriora/pseuds/Meriora
Summary: Short stories from the Fire Nation.





	

**Author's Note:**

> It's not really a secret if everyone knows, right?
> 
> Occurs between YWB chapters 5 and 6.

Katara grabbed as many blankets her short arms could hold and waddled outside to where the other girls were. "If it gets too cold, just yell for me okay?" her new father said. "I don't want you guys catching a cold. And don't let Da Lee bore you with all that star nonsense, okay?" Katara looked at him with big eyes until he started to get a little nervous under her gaze. "Um, I'm going to see how your mother's doing," he chuckled nervously as he gave her a sheepish smile and walked towards the back of the house.

Katara hid a little smile and continued her way outside. Her new sisters were huddled together on the grass, pointing at stars and staving off yawns. Katara plopped most of the blankets down by Ha Lee's feet and took a spot between An Lee and Su Lee. An Lee gave Katara a smile and helped the younger girl wrap a blanket around the three.

"That is Qing Long on the eastern side, and Bai Hu on the west," Da Lee said as she took a blanket and put it over her feet. "Xuan Wu of the north and Zhu Que of the south." She pointed to each one in turn. "Dragon, tiger, turtle, bird."

"Strange isn't it?" Ju Lee drawled. "I guess the animals were different back then and they didn't have panda-tigers or lion-turtles or fox-birds." Katara nodded her agreement and looked at the constellations again. Qing Long on the east, Bai Hu on the west. Xuan Wu on the north, Zhu Que on the south.

"They're different at home," Katara said suddenly. Seven pairs of eyes shot to her, but she was used to their gazes by now. "They have different names too." She paused as she tried to remember what her mom—her other mom, her before mom—called them.

"You have to tell us," Ty Lee urged excitedly. "Granny Tai's not here so you aren't gonna get in trouble."

"Ty, hush," An Lee said harshly, then her voice softened when she addressed Katara. "Take your time."

Katara gave her older sister a smile and turned back to the sky. "Zhu Que is a bird too, but her name is Julak and she's the chief of all birds. Whenever she beats her wings, lights appear in the sky."

"Wow, lights in the sky?" Su Lee asked in amazement.

"Yeah," Katara said. "During the summer Julak beats her wings a lot." Then Katara pointed to where Xuan Wu the turtle was. "That's Buken the giant whale. He's the son of Tui and La who was banished to the sky when he tried to drink the ocean."

"How can a whale drink an ocean? …What is a whale anyway?" Fu Lee asked. The other girls shrugged.

"It's probably one of those weird ancient animals," Da Lee replied.

"Ahem!" An Lee coughed loudly. Once the attention was on her, she gave a gentle smile. "I want to hear the rest of the story."

"That's Anarteq the polar bear dog," Katara resumed. "I don't know what Bai Hu does, but I think Anarteq used to be a human and then he was turned into a polar bear dog by Tui. And the last one is Tatara, the ancient warrior who birthed the Southern Water Tribe."

"Do you know that story?" Ha Lee asked from a sort ways away from them.

"No," Katara said. "I think someone told me it once, but I don't remember anymore."

"Well that was nice anyway," Ty Lee said, yawning and finding her way under Katara's blanket.

"It's always interesting to learn about new cultures," An Lee agreed. "But we shouldn't tell Granny Tai."

The girls all nodded their agreement. They started talking about other things, like how Da Lee wanted to cut all of her hair and Fu Lee wanted to become an admiral in the navy. Katara let the chatter wash over her until her eyes got heavier and heavier, until they finally fell asleep.

When Katara woke up, she found herself tangled within three bodies, and the moon was high in the sky. She looked up at the bright moon and idly wondered why Julak didn't flap her wings for the Fire Nation.

* * *

 

It was three years before Wei saw Katara again. He only had a few short weeks with her, but in that short time, he thought they became very close. She was like the little sister Wei never knew he wanted and excitement thrummed though his body.

"Don't you want to spend more time at home?" Shun asked. "That girl isn't going anywhere."

"Neither are you," Wei retorted to his brother. Shun narrowed his eyes, but instead of replying, he just sighed.

"Don't you want to see your nephew? Jian's been asking about you," Shun pleaded with sad eyes.

"Jian isn't old enough to hold his own head," Wei scoffed as he looked for something in his packed bags. "Try again." Shun gave another sigh and rubbed his temples. That gesture made him look much older than thirty-two, and Wei ignored the pang of guilt shot up his spine. "What about Ai? She'd love to see you again. And Father… it's been three years, Wei," Shun sighed. "The girl will still be here tomorrow."

Wei ignored his brother and continued to dig through his bags. With a triumphant smile, he found what he was looking for and stuffed it in his tunic. "I'll see you later Shun," Wei called out as headed for the doors. "Wei…" Shun trailed off, but Wei left before hearing his brother's feeble complaints.

The Taizong lived in a large palace that outshone the royal family's, with expansive and elabroate gardens. Wei walked for ten minutes until he had finally left his family's lands and reached the trail that led into the main city. Several servants offered Wei a palanquin, but he turned them down. Years at sea and in hostile territory had left Wei incredibly self-sufficient and wary of other's goodwill. He highly doubted his own servants would betray him, especially those who had watched him grown up, but he couldn't be sure. Besides, he would much rather walk to the Wairen estate.

He let his feet lead him past the merchant stalls and where the common folk lived. The Taizong lived across the way from the rest of the nobles, a relic from a powerful and illustrate past. With every step closer to the Wairen, anticipation strummed through his body. After three long years, Wei was finally going to see the little girl who had wormed her way into his heart.

The Wairen house looked a lot smaller than Wei had thought it would. Their families never mingled much, but Wei thought that such a once-mighty family would have a more impressive living space. Sitting underneath the shade of a large tree, was a young woman with long brown hair and kind eyes. "Hello," she said in a serene voice. "We weren't expecting any visitors today."

Suddenly Wei felt bashful. "Ah, well, um, I—" he stuttered, only to be interrupted by a loud and shrill scream. Wei whipped around to look for the source of the noise, but the woman seemed unbothered. Even when one scream became many and combined with various thumping and shattering sounds.

"Uh—"

"You never did explain why you were here," the woman said kindly. She seemed utterly unfazed by the cacophonous mayhem happening behind the house.

"Well…this is the Wairen's estate, right?" Wei asked weakly.

"Yes."

Wei blinked. He wasn't expecting such a straight answer. "Well I came to see Katara."

Quickly, the serene look was off of the woman's face and replaced with cool suspicion. "Why do you want to see her?" she asked.

"Um…" Wei balked under the intensity of her glare. "I was one of the soldiers on the ship she was on. I just wanted to check on her. "

The woman burst into a sunny smile. "Well why didn't you say so before? Apparently she had a lot of fun there." He didn't know whether that was a good thing or not and the woman's sunny deposition wasn't making Wei feel any better. In a fluid motion, she stood up and grabbed his hand. "She'll be so excited to see you," she said as she led him into the small house.

"Um, don't you guys have any servants?" Wei asked as they fluidly stepped over discarded clothes and toys.

"Can't afford them," the woman said cheerfully. "That reminds me…it's Su Lee's turn to clean up…"

Wei blinked, feeling very uncomfortable and out of place. He didn't know what to say to that. He'd never been in a house so…unstructured. "I'm An Lee, by the way," the woman said. "An Lee Wairen."

"Um, I'm Wei Taizong," he stammered.

"Nice to meet you, Wei Taizong," she said. He had the strangest feeling that she was being patronizing, but her voice sounded so sweet. In nearly an instant, An Lee had led Wei outside. Now he knew where all the wealth of the Wairen had went. The backyard was expansive, with plenty of trees, flowers and bushes as far as the eye could see. An old woman was sitting underneath a tree with drooping leaves and watching a brood of children run in circles around a bush. The remains of a porcelain doll lay sadly on the grass, ignored and forgotten by all. "Hello Granny Tai," An Lee said as she approached the old woman. An Lee bowed deeply and Wei followed suit. "This is Wei Taizong and he—"

"I know what he's here for," Tai said briskly. "Azulon told me that you were the one who brought her here."

"I thought that was on a need to know basis," Wei said.

"One thing you'll learn boy," Tai said gruffly. "The Wairen know everything."

"Of course you do," Wei said flippantly. Lady Tai tilted her chin towards An Lee as she narrowed her grey eyes at Wei. An Lee dropped Wei's hand and walked to the other side of her grandmother's chair. She bent down and then put a wooden cane in Tai's lap. With a lot of effort, Tai hefted herself out of her chair, turning down help from An Lee. "I'll get the girl for you," Tai said as she started to hobble towards the children.

"I could do—" Wei started.

"Hush boy," Lady Tai retorted. She paused for a minute and leaned heavily on her cane. Wei jumped to help, but a soft hand stopped him. He turned and looked into the smiling tranquil face of An Lee. He tried to swat her hand away, but she dug her fingers into his arm.

"She'll hit you with her cane if you help her," An Lee said sweetly. Wei blinked.

"No she wouldn't," Wei said with defiantly. An Lee just smiled brightly in response. Wei yanked his arm out of her grip and headed towards the old woman. He took her free arm and linked it with his own. "Here, let me—"

A sharp crack rung between Wei's ears as his head whipped back and his body crumpled to the ground. From somewhere ahead of him, he heard an exasperated and high pitched, "Granny Tai please." A gruff "He had it coming," was the only response. The throbbing caused him to squeeze his eyes shut and gingerly touch his head. Pain flared up and he whimpered pitifully. After a moment, a cool hand touched a newly formed bump on his forehead.

"Granny Tai says she doesn't like it when people help her," said a familiar voice. "But I think she just likes to hit people in the head."

Wei cracked open an eye and saw Katara peering at him. "Are you okay?" she asked. "It looks like Granny Tai hit you really hard."

"I'm okay," Wei ground out through gritted teeth. "I can get up." He struggled to his feet, much to Katara's bemusement. With a spryness Wei envied, Katara jumped up and gave a shy smile.

"Hi Wei," she said softly. "Did you get my letters?"

"Yeah," Wei smiled back. "Your penmanship has really improved."

Katara smiled brightly and turned to wave to her family. "Granny Tai, we're leaving now!" Katara said.

"Do you need my cane?" Tai said as she plopped back into her chair. She gave Wei a steely glare before glancing at her granddaughter. Katara shook her head as she and Wei started to leave.

"Bye An Lee! Bye Ha Lee! Bye Su Lee! Bye Ju Lee!" she cried, ignoring a girl in orange and a girl in pink.

"Aren't you going to say bye to the other girls?" Wei whispered. Katara looked at him solemnly and shook her head.

"I am shunning Ty Lee and Fu Lee," she said seriously. "Da Lee's with Auntie Trin."

"Why is that?" Wei asked, interested in how Katara was assimilating with her new family.

"Daddy got mad cause Ty Lee and Fu Lee ate all the moon cakes, but then they said I ate them and I didn't!" Katara pouted. "I don't even like red beans, I like moon peaches." Once she said that, Katara turned to Wei with a pointed look.

"What?" Wei asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No," Katara reassured cheerfully. "But I was thinking…I like moonpeaches, you like moonpeaches and there's a guy who sells them in the marketplace."

Wei raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Where are you going with this Katara?"

"Buy me a moonpeach Wei," she said bluntly.

Wei rolled his eyes. "That's where I thought you were going. Is this why you wanted me to visit? So I can buy you moonpeaches?"

"Yeah," she said simply. "I want something and I have to use my feminine wiles to get what I want from hapless men. That's what Auntie Trin says."

"You're six—"

"I'm seven!"

"You're almost seven," Wei clarified. "Aren't you a little too young to be worrying about feminine wiles?"

Katara shook her head. "I have to start learning now because guys will want to marry me soon and I have to be the boss."

"Wow, they're really preparing you for this," Wei said with amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Who are you going to get married to?"

Katara closed her eyes and hmm'd very loudly. "Not you Wei, you're old."

"Ouch," Wei chuckled. "But we were going to go to the tailors and get you fitted for your wedding dress."

Katara yanked on Wei's shirt and dragged him down to her level. With look of mock pity, she patted his head very softly. "It's not me, it's you."

Wei groaned and clutched his chest melodramatically. "You're going to break someone's heart someday," he said with a wan smile.

"Good," she replied. "Then everyone will know I'm desirable and that they should want to marry me."

"You're six," Wei murmured before he righted himself. "You won't be able to get married until you're seventeen, at the earliest."

"The earlier the better. That's what Granny Tai says." She put her hand into Wei's and clutched it tightly. "I don't look like everyone else, so Granny says I have to work harder to make guys want to marry me."

Wei tightened his grip on Katara's hand and frowned. "It's okay to not be married, Katara," he said gently, thinking back to his own disastrous betrothal. "I'm not married, and I'm still okay."

The little girl peered at Wei and then noticeably flicked her eyes to the large red bump on his forehead. "Okay," she said, unconvinced. She didn't say anything after that, instead she led him into the marketplace and towards the fruit vendor.

"I didn't say that I was going to buy you anything," Wei said. Immediately, Katara dropped his hand and twirled on her heel.

"Fine, fine," he muttered, missing the comforting warmth of her small hand. "You're very manipulative, you know that?" He dug into his pockets and fished out several copper pieces. The fruit vendor looked at the money and then at Katara and Wei. Wei could see the man mentally appraising their fine clothes. "This is all you're getting, so I better get a bag of moonpeaches," Wei said.

The man snatched the copper pieces up and passed Wei a bag full of moonpeaches. Satisfied, Katara twirled back around and grabbed Wei's hand again. Wei gave Katara a half-hearted scowl, only to see her grin brightly back. They walked around the bustling marketplace, until they found a small patch of grass with a large leafy tree jutting from the middle of it. Wei fell under the tree with a plop and a grunt, while Katara delicately sat down next to him. She stuck her hand into the bag and took out the largest fruit.

"It seems like you're fitting in with the Wairen," Wei said after watching Katara bite into the moonpeach.

"Yeah," Katara says as she licked peach juice off her arms. "Granny Tai says I have barbarian manners though."

"A little," Wei chuckled before biting into a moonpeach himself. "These are pretty good though. I don't blame you. Are you happy there?"

Katara paused, finished her peach and started another when she finally nodded. "I think so," she said. "Annie is really nice and she's always telling me important things. Fu's really silly and always really loud. Suie always gives me nice smiles. I like Mommy and Daddy too. But...Granny Tai hurts my feelings sometimes and Da Lee always punches everyone in the face."

Wei paused eating his peach and blinked. "I guess I'm lucky Da Lee's with Auntie Trin then, huh?" Wei joked.

"Yeah, or else she'd punch you in the face. You're lucky you met An Lee first, Wei."

Wei chuckled, but soon a solemn expression settled on his face. "Why does Lady Tai hurt your feelings, Katara?"

Katara finished her second moonpeach and grabbed the one hanging loosely from Wei's hand. "Sometimes she says really mean things, like my bending is sloppy and I move like a lame komodo rhino and if I keep that up, I'll end up going up to the Fortress."

"What," Wei said flatly. Katara nodded in between bites. "Did she really say that?"

Katara nodded again. "But I'm lucky, I don't get hit as much as Ha Lee does, but Ty Lee never gets hit," Katara said petulantly.

"Lady Tai hits you with the cane?" Wei gasped.

"Yeah," Katara said nonchalantly. "I don't get it, Ty Lee messes stuff up all the time but she never gets in trouble."

Wei gaped at Katara and then shook his head violently. "No way, no way," he said. "We're going to the Fire Lord right now and you're coming home with me!"

Katara widened her eyes in horror and shook her head just as violently as Wei had. "I'm going to be sent to the Fortress!" she wailed. "I wasn't supposed to tell you anyway!"

"That's even more reason to tell him!" Wei urged. "Those people are hitting you with canes! My head is still red!" He grabbed her wrist, causing Katara to drop the peach pit on the ground and started to drag her towards the royal castle. She dug her heels into the ground and waved helplessly at the bag containing the last moonpeach.

"Wei, the peaches," she whined plaintively.

"Once you're living with me, I'll get you a tree," he replied back, pulling her away from the shady tree.

Katara pouted and tried to wrestle her wrist out of Wei's grip, but he was three times her age, and much stronger than she was. "You were the one who said I couldn't trust the Fire Lord!" she cried in a last ditch attempt to stop him. Wei stopped walking, but he didn't loosen his grip.

"But..Katara." Wei turned so they were facing each other. "Tai is mistreating you. We can brave Fire Lord Azulon if it means you'll be placed somewhere better."

"He wanted to send me to the mines, or did you forget?"

"No…" Wei muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "But—"

"It's okay," Katara said sternly, finally wrestling her wrist out of Wei's grasp. She put her hands on her hips, looking eerily like his aunt. "It could be much worse. I could be actually in the Fortress and I'm not."

"It's not that simple," Wei protested weakly, but in the face of Katara's conviction, he just sighed. "If the guys could see me now," he muttered as Katara strode back towards the tree. "Being pushed around by a six year old."

* * *

 

"Look at the two of you! Aren't you just precious? Aren't they Tien?"

"Huh, oh, haha! Yes they are! Very precious!"

Michi Linyi smiled widely at Tien Wairen, the two of them looking as differently from each other as their daughters. Michi was tall and pale, with long black hair tied back neatly in a plait, while Tien was short and stocky, with sun-kissed tan skin and messy short brown hair. While Michi's smile seemed a little wooden, Tien's was sincere. The little girls shared a bored look as their mothers continued to gush over their cute daughters. Michi turned her smile to Mai and before returning to Tien. "This is the start of something special between our families, isn't it?"

"Of course!" Tien laughed, sharing a harried glance with her daughter. "Uh, Michi? We should leave these two and have a cup of tea, don't you think? Or maybe one of those pastries your chef makes."

"Oh, alright then," Michi replied. "Be nice Mai. Remember your manners."

Tien gave a little wink and led the slender lady out of the large room they had set up for the children. At the table, the young Misses Wairen and Linyi looked at the cloths in front of them. Without a word, Mai took a cloth and started dutifully stitching. After an empty silence, the dark haired girl said, "My mother wants us to be friends, but I'd rather not."

Katara, having picked up her own cloth and beginning her own embroidery, felt her jaw drop. "You haven't even talked to me yet!" she huffed.

With as much enthusiasm as a man sentenced to death, Mai turned her gaze to the other girl. "You look like someone I wouldn't want to associate with."

"Do you even know what that word means?"

"Yes," Mai said smugly, showing emotion for the first time. "Do you?"

"Of course I do," Katara said, offended. "I've had the best tutors."

"As have I," Mai retorted. Katara eyed Mai's embroidery and scoffed.

"Obviously not," Katara said, tilting her head towards the mess of stitches on Mai's cloth. "What's that supposed to be, a cow?"

Mai gripped her needle tightly and her jaw tightened. "It's supposed to be a phoenix."

Katara dug into her sleeves and took out a small red handkerchief. "This is a phoenix," she said, unfolding it and showing a golden bird unfurling its wings. "That," she said, pointing to Mai's cloth. "Is a mess. I thought you were supposed to be good with pointy objects."

Two splotchy circles of red appeared on Mai's pale cheeks. She stayed silent, but messily tore out her stitches. Katara, smugly, turned back to her own embroidery and carefully stitched an outline. "Maybe you should have thought more before you said you didn't want to be friends," Katara offered sweetly. A sullen silence fell between the two girls as they worked on their embroidery. Every so often, Mai's jaw would clench and she'd rip out her thread and start all over again. Every time that happened, Katara would suppress a smirk and continue working on her own piece. She knew she was being mean to the older girl, but nobody wrote off Katara, ever.

As soon as Katara finished her embroidering, her mother and Lady Linyi came back. "Oh girls, I'm so sorry we left you two for so long!" Michi apologized. "Tien and I lost track of time."

Tien gave Katara a grin. "You had fun, didn't you sweetie?" Katara nodded and showed her cloth.

"I made a queen," she said brightly. Tien grabbed the cloth and looked at the regal figure in the golden dress.

"Wow, she's beautiful," Tien said. "You've gotten really good sweetheart. You'll give Annie a run for her gold. "

Katara grinned back at her mother and gave Mai a smug look. "Mai's is good too," she offered. Mai stood as still as stone as Michi and Tien looked at her cloth.

"What a cute flower!" Tien enthused.

"How simplistic," Michi said haltingly. "I thought you were going with a phoenix, Mai. Not a flower. You already know the basics."

Mai snatched her cloth from view and crossed her arms. "It didn't work out, Mother." Michi looked disappointed, but she offered Tien and Katara a smile.

"Your queen looks very lovely," she told Katara. "Tien, your daughter is very talented. Maybe you could learn something from her." The last part was directed with a very pointed look at Mai. Mai sent a glare to Katara, but the shorter girl just smiled sweetly in return.

"Don't worry, Mai," she whispered low enough for the women not to hear. "Every night, I'll pray to Agni for you, because my mother always taught me to pray for those with basic tastes." With all the poise and propriety her grandmother taught her, Katara held her head high and strode out of the room, her mother trailing behind her.


End file.
